Team Falken Tire yesterday finished their final American Le Mans Series test session before the official practice session of the 12 Hours of Sebring get underway today. The Indianapolis-based team spent the off season productively with several tests at Sebring International Raceway and will hope that this will give them the edge for the main event.
Bryan Sellers, one of the team’s drivers, said: “We’ve been fortunate enough to have a fair amount of testing days at Sebring. We’re trying to sort through a lot of things we need to improve on from last season. Fortunately it seems like we’ve been able to make some progress.”
The twelve hour endurance race, the first round of the season, is the ultimate test for all of the ALMS teams. The varying track temperatures and track surfaces ensure that it will be one of the most difficult events of the year, and it will be the last ALMS-hosted 12 Hours of Sebring.
Falken’s 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR will be driven in the GT class by Falken factory driver Sellers along with Porsche factory driver Wolf Henzler. The partnership produced two wins in 2011 and another victory last season, and they will be hoping to take a third straight victory on the streets of Baltimore in 2013, where they have won for the previous two years.
Henzler said: “We’re trying to figure out what we have to do to make the set-up better.” The team’s dedication to excellence in tyre development should prove a useful asset come this weekend’s event. He continued: “We still have a couple of hours left on the track and I’m positive we will get it better for the race.”
Also joining the proven driving partnership is third driver Nick Tandy, also picked from Porsche’s factory ranks. He will be racing in his first ALMS event and first 12 Hours of Sebring this weekend. He said: “The thing that struck me most about coming to Falken is everybody has the same desire too be as good and as competitive as we can possibly be to achieve as much success as possible. For me personally, I have to do the best job I can as part of the team and driving as fast as possible for as long as possible over the course of my stints in the race.”
